Tyron Woodley joins The Weigh-In

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Each week, our ESPN.com panel tackles hot topics in the world of mixed martial arts.

This week, UFC welterweight Tyron Woodley joins our expert panel.

1. Do you agree or disagree with the UFC's decision to award Carlos Condit a welterweight title shot against Robbie Lawler in November?

Tyron Woodley: The only issue I have with any of it is consistency. Rory MacDonald earned his title shot based on victories and ranking. He over-earned it, actually. Then you've got guys like Condit who get it for entertaining performances and based on draw. I would like to see the UFC be more consistent so we as fighters know what we need to do. Is it about winning? Because I'll make sure to secure a victory, even if it's not the most attractive victory. If not, then I'll go break loose, knowing you can lose three of your last five fights but still jump over people who have beat you. I'm not really bent out of shape about it, because I was in a position where I already felt I needed one more victory over a highly ranked guy. I'm getting the fight I asked for [against Johny Hendricks at UFC 192]. If I was Johny Hendricks, I'd be way more annoyed.

Brett Okamoto: I disagree pretty hard on this one. I think everyone can agree that Condit is awesomely fun to watch, but you simply can't justify making this guy the No. 1 contender. He has two wins in the last three years, one of them against Martin Kampmann (who hasn't fought since) and the other against Thiago Alves (solid opponent, but past his prime and not ranked in the Top 10). Hendricks beat Condit in 2013 and has a 1-1 record against the defending champion (and if you actually scored that Lawler-Hendricks rematch for Hendricks, I'm not going to argue with you. It was that close). How is he not the No. 1 contender? Giving the shot to Condit is nothing less than a slap in Hendricks' face, really.

Michael Huang: I don't agree, and I don't think it'll be much of a fight. And believe me, I like Condit. I think he's a terrific technical striker and people forget he made his way first with jiu-jitsu, so they underestimate him on the ground. However, I think he has always missed that raw power. Fight Magazine once labeled him one of the most unintimidating physiques in the UFC. I don't necessarily agree with that. Condit has lacked the pure striking power of our esteemed guest here, Tyron Woodley, or the current champ Lawler. That's where I think Lawler will catch him, or it'll go to a decision, but not before Lawler inflicts some major damage. The UFC could have done better.

2. What is an appropriate punishment for Rousimar Palhares, who was stripped of the World Series of Fighting welterweight title after holding onto a submission too long in a title defense last weekend? And for Jake Shields, who punched Palhares after the bell?

Woodley: I think [Palhares] should be exiled from MMA. I think he should never be allowed to fight again. When you continue [to hold a submission], where you're having a chance of ripping their shoulder out, hyperextending their knee or breaking a joint, you're basically saying, "F you, F your family, F everybody you need to make a living for because I'm going to injure you to the point where you'll be sitting on the sideline not able to compete." It's a d-bag move, he's notorious for doing it, and if I were a promoter, he wouldn't be allowed to even watch a fight. And for Shields, he should have curb-stomped him. He should have done more than punch him. If anybody wants to put disciplinary action against him for doing that, they should reconsider. Jake said [Palhares] eye-gouged him eight times. I would have punched him, too.

Okamoto: I'm with Woodley on this one. I never need to see Palhares compete again. I am a big believer in second chances, even third ones. But taking away somebody's ability to make a living is a very, very serious thing, and that's essentially what Palhares is looking to do every time he fights -- take away his opponent's ability to make a living for a certain amount of time. I don't know why he continues to hold submissions too long. I really, really don't understand him blatantly eye-gouging Shields last weekend, as if none of us were going to see it. I just don't get it, but what I am fairly certain of is that this guy is going to keep doing this crap as long as he's fighting. If I were the Nevada State Athletic Commission, I'd tell him to find somewhere else to fight. He has run out of chances. And as far as Shields goes, give him a warning and move on.

Huang: Stripping him of the belt and suspending him indefinitely might just be the tip of the iceberg here. His multiple infractions in the UFC and now WSOF suggest that this is not a case of him just being a dirty fighter. This man is pathological -- he could care less about winning a title. That's incidental. It's more of a brutality thing, where he can fight sanctioned in a cage and inflict pain legally without being arrested. There's nothing competitive about his behavior. He's done. Or at least he should be.

3. Whose fault is it that Ronda Rousey and Cris "Cyborg" Justino haven't fought yet?

Woodley: I think it's the fault of the women's division being so new and having no depth. Ronda Rousey has freaking steamrolled the division. She's a minimum of two years ahead of all her competition, and there's really no one left for her to fight. So now everyone is looking at a female who is really at a different weight class. She has gotten on a scale after a fight once and weighed 175 pounds, you know what I mean? It's like if people were to say, "Hey Tyron, you wiped out the welterweight division so we want to see you fight Chris Weidman." That's not a good matchup for anybody. You've got to realize you're comparing two ladies, one of whom isn't even in the UFC, who are in different weight classes. If I was Ronda, I'd just keep doing my thing, kicking everybody's butt in my division.

Okamoto: Yeah, I'm not sure one is more to blame than the other at the moment. What I will say is that if Justino wants this fight, she has to make an effort to cut to 135 pounds. That's not really fair, but life isn't fair, and right now Rousey is the clear A-side to this matchup. Justino needs Rousey more than vice versa, so the pressure is on her to make the weight. If she makes the effort and it really just can't be done, then all the pressure shifts to Rousey, in my opinion. "OK Ronda, Justino tried but she literally, physically can't make it. Are you really going to potentially retire without making this fight?" At that point, if the fight didn't happen, it would be fair to say it was Rousey's doing. I have long believed if it came down to that, Rousey would go up in weight to make the fight happen. For now though, the ball is in Justino's court.

Huang: I blame Justino completely. Sure, this is the fight everyone wants to see. And Ronda has it in her power -- it's her prerogative -- to make this happen if she agrees to fight at a catchweight. But have people forgotten that  she is the champion? She is under no pressure to oblige Justino. If Justino wants to fight, she has to make weight and stop making ludicrous statements about this "not being about winning or losing." Horse poop. (Did I just say that?) It's all about winning and losing. The only win for Rousey moving up is she gets to silence critics and Justino by fighting at Justino's weight. There's nothing but loss on the other side -- there's no reason Rousey needs to bend toward Cyborg. If she wants to fight Rousey, make 135.

4. Rousey is a nearly 5-to-1 favorite in a potential fight against Justino. Thoughts on the hypothetical odds?

Woodley: I don't have enough knowledge of Cyborg's skills to make a comment. I don't really know where her ground game is at. She's strong and she can push people off her, but when you think about Ronda, she is pretty resilient about getting a takedown. So if she wants you on the ground, she's probably going to get you there. I just don't know how well Cyborg would be fighting off that armbar. And from what I hear from people who train with Ronda, the armbar is just one of her submissions. But even if [Justino] is terrible at jiu-jitsu, those odds are pretty high. I think Ronda would even agree that's pretty high.

Okamoto: The key word in this is "hypothetical," because not only are we talking about a fight that hasn't been booked, we're talking about a world in which Justino weighs 135 pounds. And to be frank, I'm not convinced Justino can weigh 135 pounds, let alone still be the same athlete at 135 pounds. What if Justino makes the weight, but is a complete shell of herself come the night of the fight? It's a hard thing to predict, so it's a hard betting line to comment on. If weight wasn't an issue and both women walked into the cage 100 percent, I would say Rousey is about a 2-to-1 favorite in my mind. Perhaps a little higher.

Huang: Rousey has fought women who were seemingly bigger or stronger than her -- Sara McMann and Cat Zingano -- and dispatched them using skill, precision or agility. I don't think it would be any different with Justino. The odds are high perhaps because, as Brett says, it's hypothetical, and those odds might be high just to get money moving. But it's hard to bet against Ronda at this point.

5. Who is the fighter to watch on Saturday's UFC Fight Night card in Nashville?

Woodley: [Bantamweight] Amanda Nunes [who is fighting McMann] is a straight OG. I fought on a Strikeforce card in Nashville. She was on there and she beat Julia Budd's A-double-S down. And Budd was a Muay Thai striker, a professional, and boy she jumped on her like white on rice. Me and my wife were immediately in love with her as an athlete. She's going back to Nasvhille, and I think McMann might as well just give up that fight purse right now. Din Thomas has been training Nunes and he says she's one of the best 135-pound fighters in the sport. She's a hard worker, she's mean, witty, has a nice rhythm and swag and her ground game is pretty legit. I see her doing big things. And if you remember her loss to Cat Zingano, she was lighting Cat up before losing in the third round. That's the fight I would look out for.

Okamoto: Flyweight prospect Ray Borg, who is fighting Geane Herrera on the main card. Borg is 22 and carries loads of potential. He's well-rounded. His only loss came against Dustin Ortiz -- who is actually fighting on the card, as well -- but in terms of sheer upside, I still rank Borg ahead of Ortiz. Here's a bold prediction for you: Borg will win the UFC flyweight title by the time he's 27. I don't know, is that bold? It's a pretty long window of five years. Predicting a UFC championship is still pretty bold though, yeah? Whatever, I'm calling it bold.

Huang: So ... I'm going to admit I've only seen tape on Oluwale Bamgbose. But I've seen plenty of Uriah Hall. He's an immensely talented fighter who's still refining his craft. I like the fact that he's a thinker and cerebral. But the tape I've seen of Bamgbose is pretty darn exciting simply because his style seems straight-ahead, after-your-ass fighting, and with Hall, that could be effective or suicide. According to the tape, Hall says he has sparred with Bamgbose, the Ring of Combat middleweight champion, and should still beat him. I'm unsure if it was Hall himself who recommended him, but no matter. There should still be fireworks. How can you go wrong with a guy who has "Bam!" in his name?